This invention relates to an information processing method, and more particularly to a method of changing the contents of a document, to which a user in one information terminal refers, by another user in the other information terminal collaborating with the one information terminal, in accordance with circumstances.
At the time of the application of the present invention, collaboration techniques have been proposed so that a plurality of users can perform a collaborative operation (browse, movement, or change) for a HTML page at the same time, as in Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 10-124461. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the fact that this collaborative operation for a HTML page is applied to an internet banking system. By using such techniques, an agent for a bank, an agent for an internet customer consultation center, or the like can refer to the same page as a customer and operate it.
However, conventional collaboration tools for a browser are based on a specific browser or based on a specific operating system. For this reason, in high-value member services, which distribute software incorporated PCs or are premised on the assumption that a specific OS or browser is introduced, there will be no problem. However, in the case of dealing with many and unspecified persons, such as when a consulting function is desired to be added to web sites, collaboration cannot be performed with respect to customers making access under an unsupportable environment.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a system that is capable of freely displaying the contents desired by a user in one information terminal on another information terminal with no special software for collaboration, when collaboration is performed.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a low-cost collaboration system that reduces the resource necessary for collaborating with an information terminal.
Still another objective of the invention is to provide a collaboration system where it becomes possible to control collaboration between itself and an information terminal unitarily.
A further object0ive of the invention is to provide a collaboration system entirely independent of the kinds of the platform/browser of an information terminal to be operated.
These and other objects will be addressed by the present invention and, in particular, by the preferred embodiment presented.
If a customer clicks on a xe2x80x9ccall buttonxe2x80x9d with a browser, an agent who performs collaboration is assigned. The browser on the customer side shows a default start up screen and an object to display the next page. The screen on the agent side shows the number of a document to which the customer refers as the next page, and the agent can change this number. If the customer selects the object to display the next page, a hypertext makeup language (HTML) including that object is generated based on the document number changed by the agent, the HTML being transmitted to the customer side.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method that is executed within a system including a collaboration server connected to both a customer information terminal and an agent information terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) sending a first message from the customer information terminal to the collaboration server, the first message giving instructions to perform collaboration;
(b) selecting an agent that collaborates with the customer information terminal;
(c) sending a second message to display an object on the customer information terminal along with predetermined information, the object giving instructions to send a next-page request;
(d) displaying first information and second information onto a screen of the agent information terminal, the first information specifying information being presently displayed on a screen of the customer information terminal and the second information specifying information to be displayed next on the screen of the customer information terminal;
(e) sending, in the agent information terminal, a third message to instruct the collaboration server to change the second information in response to receiving input giving instructions to change the second information;
(f) receiving, a fourth message by the collaboration server, the fourth message being generated by operating the object in the customer information terminal; and
(g) sending the information, specified by the third message received from the agent information terminal, from the collaboration server to the customer information terminal. In the claims of this specification, the xe2x80x9cobject giving instructions to send a next-page requestxe2x80x9d is a concept including menus such as clickable buttons, icons, and pull-down menus.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method that is executed within a system including a collaboration server connected to both a customer information terminal and an agent information terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) sending a first message to display an object on the customer information terminal along with predetermined information from the collaboration server, the object giving instructions to send a next-page request;
(b) displaying first information and second information onto a screen of the agent information terminal, the first information specifying information being presently displayed on a screen of the customer information terminal and the second information specifying information to be displayed next on the screen of the customer information terminal;
(c) sending, in the agent information terminal, a second message to instruct the collaboration server to change the second information in response to receiving input giving instructions to change the second information;
(d) receiving, a third message by the collaboration server, the third message being generated by operating the object in the customer information terminal; and
(e) sending the information, specified by the second message received from the agent information terminal, from the collaboration server to the customer information terminal.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method that is executed within a system including a collaboration server connected to both a customer information terminal and an agent information terminal to hold the information for specifying a document to be displayed next on a screen of the customer information terminal, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) sending a first message to the customer information terminal; where the first message displays an object giving instructions to send a next-page request along with predetermined information;
(b) updating the information held by the collaboration server in response to receiving a message, giving instructions to change the information specifying the document to be displayed as next page, from the agent information terminal; and
(c) sending document corresponding to the updated information in response to the request sent from the customer information terminal.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a collaboration server to be connected to both a customer information terminal and an agent information terminal, the collaboration server comprising:
(a) a session management table for managing information which specifies a session between the customer information terminal and the agent information terminal and next-page information which specifies a document to be displayed next on the customer information terminal;
(b) a session management section for updating the next-page information in response to receiving a message giving instructions to change from the agent information terminal, information to be next displayed; and
(c) a next-page document generation section for generating a document corresponding to the updated next-page information in response to a next-page request sent from the customer information terminal.
In the claims of this specification, the xe2x80x9cnext-page document generation sectionxe2x80x9d is a concept including a xe2x80x9cHTML generation sectionxe2x80x9d to be described in an embodiment of the present invention.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a collaboration system including a collaboration server connected to both a customer information terminal and an agent information terminal, the collaboration system comprising:
(a) the customer information terminal for sending a first message to the collaboration server, the first message giving instructions to perform collaboration;
(b) the collaboration server including (b1) a session management table for managing information which specifies a session between the customer information terminal and the agent information terminal and next-page information which specifies a document to be next displayed on the customer information terminal; (b2) a session management section for updating the next-page information in response to receiving a second message from the agent information terminal, the second message giving instructions to change information to be next displayed; and (b3) a next-page document generation section for generating a document corresponding to the updated next-page information in response to a next-page request sent from the customer information terminal; and
(c) the agent information terminal for sending a third message to the collaboration server, the third message giving instructions to update the next-page information.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium for storing an information processing program that is executed within a system including a collaboration server connected to both a customer information terminal and an agent information terminal to hold first information for specifying a document to be next displayed on a screen of the customer information terminal, the program comprising:
(a) a program code for instructing the collaboration server to send the customer information terminal a first message to display an object along with predetermined information, the object giving instructions to send a next-page request;
(b) a program code for instructing the collaboration server to update the information specifying the document to be displayed as next page held by the collaboration server in response to receiving a message, giving instructions to change the first information, from the agent information terminal; and
(c) a program code for instructing the collaboration server to send data corresponding to the updated information specifying the document to be displayed as next page in response to the next-page request sent from the customer information terminal.